Financial Aid

Applying for Aid

The Financial Aid Office for the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine provides financial aid services for students and serves students throughout their five years in the program. Medical students are the only student group served by this office. CCLCM and the CWRU University Program Financial Aid offices work together to provide full financial aid services for students.

Current students and accepted applicants are invited to apply for financial aid. A student must be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen to qualify for federal loans. All students enrolled in CCLCM receive a full tuition scholarship.

We offer a full tuition scholarship to all CCLCM students. In the research thesis year, a continuation fee equal to 5 percent of tuition is required; this cost also is covered by the full tuition scholarship. Select fees are also covered by CCLCM. Tuition and fees are subject to change each academic year. Our goal is to assure that financial constraints do not preclude appropriate candidates from following their dream of becoming a physician investigator.

How to Apply

If you want to apply for federal student loans to help with living expenses and other educational expenses, follow the instructions below for completing the FAFSA and CWRU Financial Aid Application – CCM. You will need to complete the financial aid process each year.

Students are encouraged to submit their application by the deadline to ensure aid disbursement is not delayed and to avoid assessment of late fee charges on your tuition account.

All students applying for federal aid must provide the following:

FAFSA

You must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the deadline, as your financial aid award cannot be considered until your FAFSA information arrives. The FAFSA and its renewal can be completed online.

Complete your FAFSA for the 2024-2025 academic year. Add our school code 003137 - Case Western Reserve University to the school list. 

Instructions for accessing the CWRU Financial Aid Application - CCM:

• Go to the My Financial Aid Portal and log in using your activated CWRU Network ID and passphrase
• At the top left-hand corner, click on 'Menu'
• Then navigate to the 'CWRU Financial Aid Form – Medical CCM'
• This will take you to a new screen to fill out the form

Let us know if you experience log in issues with the financial aid portal.

Data verification

The Department of Education randomly selects a portion of FAFSA applications for a process called verification. If you are selected, you will receive a verification form from the Office of University Financial Aid. You must complete, sign and return the form with all documentation to our office. No federal financial assistance will be disbursed until the verification process is complete. The Financial Aid Office may require that any discrepancies be explained in writing.

You will be notified via an amended award notice if any previous awards change as a result of this process. Verification is also required by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for all non-U.S. citizens.

Accepting Your Financial Aid

Students must review their financial aid award offer and accept aid to receive funds for tuition, fees, and living expenses.  You will receive an email from the Case Western Reserve University Office of Student Financial Services informing you of your charges and due date for each term that you are enrolled. For any questions regarding your financial aid award and eligibility contact us at CCLCM-FinancialAid@ccf.org.

Students should accept financial aid award offer and complete required documents in My Financial Aid portal by mid-June.

Accept your award

Step 1

Log in My Financial Aid portal to accept your financial aid. Click on Menu in top left corner of screen and select “Accept Your Awards”.  

Read and agree to the terms and conditions to see your financial aid award.

Step 2

You will need to accept your financial aid for it to disburse to your student account.  Funds are disbursed to your account each semester.  If you have aid in excess of your direct charges, you will receive a refund check after the start of the semester. 

You have the options to accept, reduce the amount or decline your federal loans for which you are eligible to borrow for the academic year. 

For example, if you want to borrow $20,500 or less, you can decline the Additional Direct Unsubsidized Loan and accept or reduce the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan as needed. 

Students are encouraged to budget how much will be needed for the school year and accept a little more than that amount for loan origination fees and unexpected expenses. Loans can be decreased or increased anytime during the academic year.  

You must use the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen and scroll to the right if you wish to change a loan amount or accept/decline each fund.

Be sure to update the status of each loan if you make changes.

If you need your loans to disburse in uneven amounts between semesters, please accept the total amount you would like for the year and email CCLCM-FinancialAid@ccf.org with the following information:

• Name of the loan you would like to have disbursed unevenly.
• Amounts for each semester.

Step 3

Click submit to accept your financial aid award.

Our office encourages you to budget approximately the total amount of funds you will need for the school year and accept slightly more than that amount (taking into account loan origination fees and unanticipated expenses). Loans can be reduced or increased anytime during the academic year.

Step 4

Please review any documents that are still needed by selecting “Documents & Messages”. If you are a new student borrower (current and new students) at CWRU SOM in the College Program, you will need to complete entrance counseling and master promissory notes for each loan. Students in the College Program do not need to complete the Graduate Plus Loan requirements. 

To view a detailed list of application instructions for all available loans, visit https://case.edu/financialaid/resources/loans/loan-application-process.      

2023 – 2024 interest rates and origination fee

Financial aid refund and advances

Review details about refunds and advances.

Important Dates

Financial aid dates

• December – FAFSA application is available
• February 1 – CCLCM Financial Aid application available
• May 1 – Current student application deadline
• June 1 – New student application deadline

Due to the nature of federal, state and institutional guidelines governing the Office of Financial Aid Programs, the information contained here is subject to change without notice. Financial Aid is awarded without regard to race, creed, color, sex, age, national or ethnic origin or physical handicaps where need is indicated.

Disbursement dates

These play a crucial role in financial transactions, determining when funds are released or distributed to students. To stay informed about upcoming disbursement dates and ensure timely access to funds, students can refer to our website for accurate and up-to-date information.

Requirements for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans

If you are a new student borrower (current and new students) at CCLCM, you will need to complete entrance counseling and master promissory note for each loan. CCLCM students do not need to complete the Graduate Plus loan requirements. 

New students starting in the 2024-2025 academic year should complete entrance counseling and master promissory note after June 1, 2024.

2024-2025 academic year

Follow the instructions below to complete required entrance counseling and master promissory note:

• Entrance Counseling
  • Log into the Federal Student Aid website using your FSA ID and password (the same one as for the FAFSA).
  • Select 'Complete Loan Counseling'.
  • Select 'Start' next to 'Entrance Counseling (Required)'.
  • Add Case Western Reserve University. Our school code is G03024.
  • Select your Student Type as graduate or professional student.

• Master Promissory Note (MPN)
  • Log into the Federal Student Aid website using your FSA ID and password (the same one as for the FAFSA).
  • Select 'Complete Loan Agreement (Master Promissory Note)’.
  • Select ‘MPN for Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans’.
  • Add Case Western Reserve University. Our school code is G03024.

Eligibility Requirements

SAP and remediation

Federal regulations require that federal aid recipients make satisfactory progress in their degree programs. These conditions are outlined in detail in our Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy. 

Also, students who must repeat Years 1 and/or 2 for academic reasons will be assessed four consecutive years of full tuition and will pay 50% of the then-current tuition for each additional year. Review details about SAP or remediation.

Leave of Absence or Extension

Students may need to request a Leave of Absence or Extension from medical school for various reasons. To learn more about the reasons and the definitions of both, you can explore the options available to you. 

Resources

• The U.S. Department of Education is an excellent resource for all your financial aid needs.
• Use this financial aid calculator to help determine your family's expected contribution.
• All students need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Contact Our Office

Alexis Averyheart, M.Ed.
Financial Aid Manager

Mailing Address:

Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
9501 Euclid Avenue/EC10
Cleveland, OH 44195

Office Hours: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday

Phone: 1.866.735.1912 or 216.445.7170
E-mail: CCLCM-FinancialAid@ccf.org